Looking at the future
by Cindy Ryan
Summary: EJ fluff. While SGA-1's off-world EJ get baby-sitting duty.


Title: Looking at the future  
Author: Cindy Ryan  
Category: Fluff!  
Timeline: Third in my EJ series  
Summary: While SGA-1's off world EJ get baby-sitting duty

An afternoon off.

Major Evan Lorne shook his head in disbelief as he walked out of the main tower and headed toward the heart of the city.  
It'd been so long he almost didn't know what to do.  
Almost.

Evan smiled as he thought about his plans for the day. SGA-1 was off world so Jenn was baby-sitting Torren.  
Kanaan was on the mainland assisting with the harvest.

Lorne reached his destination of the east pier ten minutes later and stopped. He leaned against a railing and just watched the sight before him.

Jenn was sitting on a bench Torren balanced on her lap. She held out a stuffed bear to the toddler who took it with a delighted squeal.

Evan smiled as Jennifer's laughter reached him. She looked so at ease with Torren. Like there was nothing else she'd rather be doing.

"Hi."Jennifer greeted as Lorne walked towards her and sat down.

"Hi yourself."Evan replied as he leaned in and kissed her.  
He let his lips linger on hers, inhaling Jennifer's scent….letting his fingers brush her soft skin.

Torren screamed breaking the moment and drawing both adults attention back to the toddler.

Jennifer laughed. "Guess he wants our attention."

Evan smiled as he picked up the bear Torren had dropped. "Guess so. You up for a walk?"

With her free hand Jennifer lightly touched Evan's left cheek. She still couldn't believe they'd been dating for almost four months.  
It'd gone by so fast and she'd treasured every minute.

"Let's go."

Evan stood and reached for Torren. "I'll take him for a bit."

Jennifer's heart melted as she watched Evan scoop the little boy up into his arms.  
There was just something about a man with a baby or toddler.

"What?"Evan asked catching Jennifer's stare.

Keller smiled as she took his free hand in hers and squeezed it. "Nothing. You thinking of heading to the park?"

Evan nodded as they started walking. "Or I heard something about a dolphin like species being spotted by the south pier."

Jennifer handed Torren the bear that had once again ended up on the ground. "He might like that."

"South pier we go."

*******

When they reached the south pier they discovered the rumor of the dolphin like species had been a bit off.  
They were there but there were not one but two schools playing about thirty feet off the pier.

"They're beautiful."Jennifer stated as she leaned against the railing.

The marine mammals were roughly the same size as an Earth dolphin. These were a bit shorter and where the dolphins had one dorsal fin these had two. The noses or snouts appeared to be a bit rounder as well.  
Some were gold colored and others were a mix of silver or light blue.

"Incredible."Evan agreed as he turned Torren in his arms so the toddler could see. There had been brief studies done of the ocean when they arrived. Mainly to dismiss any threats rather than explore the marine life.

The 'dolphins' chatted happily among themselves in squawks and almost beeps. Some even launched themselves over the others in a game of leapfrog.

"They're intelligent."Jennifer commented in awe.

"Wonder why they didn't come near the city until now?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Could be migration patterns. Could've been scared off. We didn't exactly land gently on this planet."

"Point."

Evan looked down as Torren squirmed and saw the little boy reach for Jennifer.

"I think he wants you."Lorne said with a laugh as he handed the toddler over.

"Hello, little one."Jennifer greeted with a smile as she gave Torren a hug before swinging him around to see the 'dolphins'. "What do you see out there, huh? Do you see the pretties?"

Something tugged at Evan's soul as he watched Jennifer and Torren interact. His thoughts began to drift.  
He hadn't thought about having a family of his own until he got involved with Jennifer.

Doing what he did for a living.....never knowing what was coming next. A family just hadn't entered the equation.

Now as he watched Jennifer it made sense.  
Really good sense.

Evan could almost see a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.  
Or a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Would they raise them here on Atlantis?  
Or in military housing back on Earth?  
Maybe even the proverbial suburban house with the white picket fence, minivan in the garage and a dog in the backyard?

Evan smiled as he imagined building a playhouse or putting up a tire swing.

The more he thought about it the more Evan realized he and Jenn needed to talk.  
Maybe later once Torren was asleep.

He needed to know where Jenn saw their future going.  
If she saw them having one beyond Atlantis.

"You're quiet."Jennifer commented as she reached for Evan's left hand.

Evan smiled as he leaned in to kiss her quickly. "Just thinking."

"About?"Jennifer asked as she watched Torren play with Evan's free hand.

"Us."Evan replied as he let go of Torren's tiny hands and pulled Jennifer back against him wrapping her in his arms.

Jennifer leaned back against him as she watched the sun set. Brilliant colors played across the water.  
The afternoon had gone by way too fast.

"Anything you want to share?"

"I was just thinking about the future and the possibilities it held."

"As long as I'm with you I don't care where we are."

Evan smiled. "I'll hold you to that when we're in some tiny apartment."

Jennifer snuggled back against him. "Tiny can be cozy."

Lorne laughed.

"Seriously."Evan began after a moment of silence. "We need to talk later."

"Okay."Jennifer replied as she looked down at Torren only to find the toddler had fallen asleep in her arms. "As wonderful as this is I need to get him down for a nap."

Evan glanced at Torren and stepped back taking Jennifer's free hand in his. "Let's go."

Once they cleared the main part of the city Evan met Jennifer's gaze. "You're really good with him."

Jennifer smiled as she shifted Torren's sleeping form to her other arm. "So were you."

"Jenn?"Evan called a few minutes later once they reached the entrance to the crew quarters.

Keller turned back having reached the door first. "Yes?"

Evan closed the space between them and captured her lips with his. After a long moment he pulled back resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you."Evan whispered knowing he didn't tell her that often enough.

"I love you too."Jennifer replied as she reluctantly pulled away.

They walked the rest of the way to Jennifer's quarters in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts.

Each knowing that making plans for the future wasn't as scary or uncertain as it once had been.

end


End file.
